04/13/2023 03:00 PM House STATE AFFAIRS

           SB 38-INTERFERENCE WITH EMERGENCY SERVICES                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
3:42:41 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR SHAW  announced that the  final order of business  would be                                                               
SENATE  BILL   NO.  38,  "An   Act  establishing  the   crime  of                                                               
interference with emergency communications."                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
3:42:55 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
The committee took a brief at-ease from 3:43 p.m. to 3:44 p.m.                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
3:44:26 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
JASMIN  MARTIN,   Staff,  Senator  David  Wilson,   Alaska  State                                                               
Legislature, presented SB 38, on  behalf of Senator Wilson, prime                                                               
sponsor.  She paraphrased the  sponsor statement [included in the                                                               
committee packet],  which read  as follows  [original punctuation                                                               
provided]:                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
     Senate Bill 38 establishes  the offense of interference                                                                    
     with  emergency  communications.   This  statute  would                                                                    
     apply  when a  person:  repeatedly makes  911 calls  to                                                                    
     report something  they know has already  been reported,                                                                    
     repeatedly  calls 911  when there  is no  emergency, or                                                                    
     harasses or threatens a 911 operator.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
     Interference  with  emergency   communications  --  the                                                                    
     misuse, abuse,  and disruption of 911  dispatch centers                                                                    
     --  is a  problem that  severely impacts  public safety                                                                    
     and emergency  response by  delaying responses  to real                                                                    
     emergencies.  It  is   prevalent  at  dispatch  centers                                                                    
     across Alaska and must be addressed.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
     During these disruptive  events, other urgent emergency                                                                    
     calls  must  be  placed  on hold  or  delayed  to  meet                                                                    
     standards; industry  standards are  that all  911 calls                                                                    
     must  be answered  within 15-20  seconds. A  dispatcher                                                                    
     could  be required  to place  the parent  of a  choking                                                                    
     child  on   hold  to  answer  repeated   calls  from  a                                                                    
     harassing individual  who is  not in need  of emergency                                                                    
     services,  delaying   necessary  life-saving  measures.                                                                    
     Under the language in the  bill, that harasser could be                                                                    
     charged.  Currently,  state  statute does  not  address                                                                    
     harassing  behavior specific  to 911  dispatch centers,                                                                    
     nor does  it give law enforcement  adequate recourse to                                                                    
     stop the behavior.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
     This  problem is  not unique  to  Alaska. Other  states                                                                    
     have developed legislation  that makes interfering with                                                                    
     emergency  communications  an   arrestable  offense  --                                                                    
     which   is  the   most  effective   way  to   stop  the                                                                    
     interference -- thus  allowing 911 telecommunicators to                                                                    
     focus on legitimate emergencies.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
3:47:03 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR SHAW proceeded with invited testimony.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
3:47:25 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
JAMES COCKRELL, Commissioner, Department  of Public Safety (DPS),                                                               
expressed support for  the proposed legislation on  behalf of the                                                               
department.   He  said the  bill was  long overdue,  as emergency                                                               
dispatch  was  a  lifeline  to  law  enforcement  officers.    He                                                               
indicated  that emergency  dispatch  was  plagued by  individuals                                                               
continuing to  call 911 in  an attempt to interfere  or complain.                                                               
He concluded by  stating that SB 38  would act as a  tool to stop                                                               
people from making continuous obstructive 911 calls.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
3:49:55 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
JOEL   BUTCHER,    President,   Association    of   Public-Safety                                                               
Communications Officials; National  Emergency Numbers Association                                                               
(NENA),  stated  his support  for  the  proposed legislation,  as                                                               
there  was no  existing statute  that criminalized  this type  of                                                               
activity.   He  clarified that  the bill  was not  an attempt  to                                                               
penalize a person who called 911  in error.  Instead, SB 38 would                                                               
provide  dispatchers  the  ability   to  warn  callers  of  their                                                               
behavior  and  provide  law enforcement  with  the  authority  to                                                               
arrest as a last result.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
3:51:18 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
JACOB   BUTCHER,   Communications  Manager,   Mat-Com   Dispatch,                                                               
expressed  support for  the proposed  legislation.   He explained                                                               
that nonemergency calls  to 911 were often handled  in stride and                                                               
redirected  to   the  appropriate  resource;  however,   in  some                                                               
instances,  explanation  and  education were  not  sufficient  to                                                               
surmount  the disruption  caused  by  intentional disorderly  and                                                               
harassing calls  to the 911  center.   He attested to  several of                                                               
such  occasions in  which  emergency  dispatch was  intentionally                                                               
disrupted.    He  pointed  out that  in  most  true  emergencies,                                                               
seconds count.  For that reason,  he stated SB 38 would provide a                                                               
mechanism  with  which law  enforcement  could  react swiftly  to                                                               
resolve  these  disruptions  to Alaska's  central  public  safety                                                               
infrastructure.   Quick resolution would  free up the  911 lines,                                                               
unencumber  the emergency  telecommunicators and  responders, and                                                               
expedite  resources   to  Alaskans   with  true   time  sensitive                                                               
emergencies, he said.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
3:54:25 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  SHAW shared  his understanding  that  the legislation  was                                                               
accompanied by a zero fiscal note.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
COMMISSIONER COCKRELL confirmed that is correct.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
3:54:40 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  STORY  inquired  asked  how  emergency  personnel                                                               
would assess whether a person  "knowingly" called.  Additionally,                                                               
she asked how individuals with  behavioral health issues would be                                                               
addressed.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
COMMISSIONER  COCKRELL outlined  the procedures,  indicating that                                                               
the  first step  was  to warn  the caller.    If that  individual                                                               
continued to call, he/she would  be making those calls knowingly,                                                               
he said.   Regarding  mental health concerns,  he stated  that it                                                               
would be up to the officer to  discern and assess the caller.  He                                                               
pointed out  that disruptive calls  were typically coming  from a                                                               
person  who  had an  unfavorable  interaction  with police.    He                                                               
reiterated  that the  intent was  to protect  dispatchers, noting                                                               
that many other states had enacted similar laws.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE STORY opined that  a person with behavioral health                                                               
issues should not be arrested.   She asked whether Soldotna had a                                                               
Crisis Now unit.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
COMMISSIONER  COCKRELL  answered  no;   however,  he  shared  his                                                               
understanding that  a Crisis  Now unit  was being  set up  in the                                                               
Matanuska-Susitna (Mat-Su) Valley.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
3:59:51 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE C. JOHNSON asked  whether other types of emergency                                                               
communications  were   being  interfered  with  other   than  911                                                               
dispatch centers.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
MS.   MARTIN    highlighted   the   definition    of   "emergency                                                               
communications" in  the bill,  which included  communication made                                                               
to or from  an emergency communications center  or between police                                                               
fire, or medical service personnel.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE C.  JOHNSON inquired about an  emergency broadcast                                                               
station, for  example.  He  suggested amending the  definition to                                                               
include all types of emergency  communications, including the act                                                               
of stopping a police officer to talk with him/her.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
COMMISSIONER   COCKRELL   explained    that   the   examples   of                                                               
interference  offered by  Representative  C.  Johnson would  most                                                               
likely be  charged with a  different crime.  Further,  he pointed                                                               
out that  most radio communications  between law  enforcement and                                                               
emergency medical services (EMS) was encrypted.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
4:03:31 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  ALLARD  suggested   including  interference  with                                                               
municipalities' emergency management systems in the bill.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MS.  MARTIN discussed  a similar  piece of  legislation that  was                                                               
identical  to SB  38  with  an added  section  pertaining to  the                                                               
physical destruction  of emergency  communication infrastructure.                                                               
She explained that the provision  was removed because the conduct                                                               
was already a crime.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
4:04:40 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  STORY  asked whether  the  bill  would help  with                                                               
employee retention.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
COMMISSIONER COCKRELL said  that was a goal,  expressing his hope                                                               
that SB  38 would set a  new standard and discourage  people from                                                               
harassing dispatchers.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
4:05:35 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER expressed support  for the concept of SB
.  He suggested that although  caller ID was utilized, a person                                                               
other than  the registered owner  of the phone could  have placed                                                               
the call.  He asked how  a law enforcement officer would identify                                                               
the true caller.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
MS. MARTIN said often, callers  provide their name.  Further, law                                                               
enforcement officers  would be sent immediately  to actively stop                                                               
the disruptive calls from continuing.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
COMMISSIONER  COCKRELL pointed  out  that any  police action  was                                                               
accompanied by an investigation.   Additionally, any arrest would                                                               
be  supported by  probably cause  and a  submitted report  to the                                                               
district attorney.  He encouraged  the committee not to overthink                                                               
the legislation.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
4:07:41 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR SHAW opened public testimony  on SB 38.  After ascertaining                                                               
that no  one online  or in  person wished  to testify,  he closed                                                               
public testimony.  He announced that SB 38 would be held over.